With online giving topping $20 billion and growing by 35% or so year over year, having a fundraising website is an essential part of any nonprofit, school or community organization’s marketing mix. But with so many online fundraisers operating at once, there are a few drawbacks:

Oversaturation: Online fundraisers are easy and often free to set up. As a result, the number of opportunities to give online can be overwhelming to potential donors. The large number of options can paralyze someone’s decision-making, or it can force them to filter and ignore online fundraisers because they’re so inundated with them.

Easy to Ignore: Online fundraising can be easier and more cost-effective for the nonprofit–in theory. But it’s much easier to delete an email or ignore a Facebook post than it is to hang up on a live person or walk away from someone you’re speaking with–or even to toss a letter without opening it. Because we’re inundated with online fundraisers, it’s easy for us to ignore what’s put in front of us, or to be extremely choosy about which communications we decide to pay attention to.

So if you’re considering an online fundraiser, or just need a way to boost engagement and donations to your current fundraiser, what are your options? Here are three tips for helping increase the engagement and visibility of your online fundraiser:

1. Demonstrate Impact: Many times, donor pages just ask for general or suggested donation amounts. Recent studies have shown that people are more likely to donate if they understand the exact impact their gift will give. Suggest gift amounts by letting your potential donors know what $5, $50 or $500 will do for your organization and the cause you’re supporting. Make it tangible.

2. Be Personal & Original: This is especially important if your fundraising appeal is personal–as in, you’re soliciting family members and friends for donations. But even if you’re a larger organization, avoid stock photos and mission statement language. Instead, tell a moving story, explain why you’re in the business of supporting the cause, or use the opportunity to speak about how donations have made an impact in the past. If you have the opportunity, allow someone who’s been directly impacted by your organization to write for your donor page, or record a video interview and upload it.

3. Consider the Ask: Online fundraising lends itself perfectly to social network sharing. We encourage you to provide social sharing tools on any fundraising page because the more ways to get the word out about your cause, the better. But consider what you’re asking people when you post a link to your page to Facebook or tweet about it. For many people, sharing the link, liking it, commenting on it, or retweeting it makes them feel as though they’ve “done their part,” even if they haven’t donated any money. Be specific in your ask on social networks and try to incorporate some of the information about how valuable their $$ donation is to your cause. Better yet, cultivate an email list that you can send personal notes to. Email is more of a call to action to donate than Facebook or Twitter, for many people.

We’re hours away from the weekend, so if your productivity is waning this afternoon, check out some of the links from around the web that will get your creative fundraising juices flowing…or at least stimulate a great to-do list for next week! Enjoy and feel free to leave your own must-reads in the comments.

Local Bank Gets 20,000 Facebook Fans Through Cause Marketing: It’s the best in cause marketing: the bank meets its marketing goals, area charities benefit, and customers feel as though they have directly contributed to a cause. Plus, the numbers are astounding…the Bank of Ann Arbor has nearly caught up with behemoth JP Morgan Chase’s 20,071 fans.

Save Time on Twitter: Most nonprofits now have a Twitter presence, but maintaining it can be cumbersome. Check out Inc.’s five tips for streamlining what you do on Twitter.

And food for thought–a few fundraising campaigns that have caused a stir this week. What do you think of them? Innovative or unwarranted?

Bullied Bus Monitor Donations Top $500K: The story caught the attention–and sympathy–of the nation, but as donation for the bus monitor pile up, some question if the moral of this story is being lost.

Obama Capitalizes on Wedding Season: Who needs a gravy boat when you can combine your wedding day with politics? Many are grumbling over this move from the Obama campaign. What do you think–innovative or tacky?

For most small brands and businesses, the word cause marketing has an expensive ring to it. “It’s for the big guys,” they think, “the ones with Corporate Social Responsibility departments. Entire teams dedicated to donating millions of dollars to some wonderful cause–that’s not for me.”

Cause marketing comes in many shapes and sizes, but the beauty of it is that it actually can be shaped to any size business that wants to participate in the nonprofit ecosystem and make a difference while also gaining a valuable marketing tool. From asking patrons for donations to a particular cause you’ve aligned your company with to donating a portion of proceeds from particular items or promotions to causes, there are feasible, tangible ways that your business can participate in a cause marketing program without breaking the bank.

Of course, the intangible benefits of cause marketing are easy to see. It feels good to help, plain and simple,and knowing that your business is contributing to a larger cause is a great way to boost morale. But as it turns out, if you’re a marketer, there’s an even more compelling reason to start cause marketing initiatives: they drive business. Your brand gets exposure to a new audience of people–the supporters of the cause–and may get a second glance on a crowded shelf due to your association. Check out these statistics from Cone Communications, a leader in the cause marketing research space:

83% of Americans wish more of the products, services and retailers they use would support a cause.

41% of Americans say they’ve made a purchase because it was associated with a cause or issue in the past year.

If associated with a cause…

19% will buy a more expensive brand.

46% will try a generic or private-labeled brand.

61% will try a new brand or one they have never heard of.

So if you’re a smaller business or brand, how do you start a cause marketing initiative that will help elevate your brand, increase sales and make an impact on a great cause? Here are some tips to get you start thinking about it:

Allow your customer to have a direct impact. There are a couple of ways to do cause marketing: you can pledge a donation from your business, or you can donate a portion of proceeds from a customer’s purchase. Most Americans say they prefer that they be able to directly impact a donation by tying their purchase to money sent to a cause, rather than just knowing the company they support will be sending a lump sum.

Allow your customers to have a say. A recent study of young adults demonstrated that one of the most important things to Millennials in getting them to make small donations was having a connection with a cause. It follows logically that giving your customers options about where their money will go is an excellent way to help engage them in the process and amplify your campaign across several different audiences. (That said, don’t spread yourself too thin–you want donations to have an impact, so limit the beneficiaries.)

Work with smaller nonprofits. If you’re a smaller business, it makes sense to work with smaller nonprofits. Here at GoodTwo, we see many small nonprofits looking to just raise a few hundred or a thousand dollars for a project by partnering with brands willing to donate a portion of sales to their cause. By working with someone smaller or local, your dollars will have a bigger impact, the cause will be more personal and you’ll have the opportunity to connect on a different level than if you work with a larger organization.

Find a cause that aligns with your business. At GoodTwo, we are part marketing machine and part matchmaker. We try to find merchants that make sense for the causes we have onboard and causes whose audience of donors align with our brands and merchants. For example, if you sell pet products, find appropriate pet-related organizations like shelters to work with. If you’re a health food store, is there a healthy kids initiative in your area with which you can partner? Think like a marketer as much as you think as a do-gooder: which causes are your customers most likely to support, and which causes most likely have supporters you’d like to turn into customers?

If you’re a small business that’s run a successful cause marketing campaign, we’d love to hear from you on how you did it. There’s more info and stats on running a cause marketing campaign for businesses and brands on our website, http://www.goodtwo.com, as well.

GoodTwo (www.goodtwo.com) is a startup organization that provides a fundraising
platform for nonprofits where donors receive rewards and also a promotional platform,
which allows brands to secure new customers while participating in cause marketing
efforts. This is a great opportunity for the right college student or recent grad to be part
of the startup scene! You will work on enhancing our platform, updating the website,
assisting with daily operational tasks and more.

What we are looking for:
To thrive with GoodTwo, you need to be willing to work hard and be a critical thinker/
problem solver. We are also looking for people with backgrounds or knowledge in web
development and graphic design. You will work closely with the founders of GoodTwo,
so this is a chance to have your voice heard and to make the impact you are hoping for.

Requirements:
This is not your average summer office internship! GoodTwo is a startup – so this means
that amazing opportunities for learning and being a real park of the team are available.
We are looking for people who are highly motivated, driven and excited by our concept.
Basic web and graphic design skills required.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to heidi@goodtwo.com
explaining why you would be a good fit.

GoodTwo (www.goodtwo.com) is a startup organization that provides a fundraising
platform for nonprofits where donors receive rewards and also a promotional platform,
which allows brands to secure new customers while participating in cause marketing
efforts.

What we are looking for:
To thrive with GoodTwo, you need to be willing to work hard, be a critical thinker/
problem solver and a solid writer. We are also looking for people with backgrounds
or knowledge in marketing, web and graphic design. You will work closely with the
founders of GoodTwo, so this is a chance to have your voice heard and to make the
impact you are hoping for.

GoodTwo (www.goodtwo.com) is a growing startup located in Boston, MA. GoodTwo’s fundraising platform allows nonprofit organizations to run case marketing campaigns that reward their donors with offers and deals fro brands while providing the brands with a new consumer.

What we are looking for:
To thrive with GoodTwo, you need to work hard, be a critical thinker/problem solver and be outgoing. We are also looking for people with a background, knowledge, or interest in sales and startups. Applicants should have excellent communications skills, be comfortable on the phone and making sales calls, work well in both a group setting and independently, and be self motivated and driven.

Duties and responsibilities will include:
You will work closely with the founders of GoodTwo, so this is a chance to have your voice heard and to make the impact you are hoping for. This is a great opportunity to improve your networking skills and create new connections. Your responsibilities and duties will shift as the business grows and day-to-day demands change.
-Sales research: researching and developing a database of companies interested in collaborating with GoodTwo.
-Targeted sales: making calls for the brand side of our business. You’ll be calling into brands and businesses of various sizes to help create offers that will appeal to our fundraisers.
-Sales activities: contacting prospective vendors and managing deals.
-Customer service: responding to emails, handling basic customer service requests, etc.

This position will require interns to make outbound calls to businesses. Applicants should be comfortable making sales calls.

➢To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to heidi@goodtwo.com explaining why you would be a good fit. Please put “Sales Internship” in the subject line of your email.